The two of us
by Classicalitys
Summary: Recognition flickered in his eyes. A simple word confirmed both his and her identity. "Sakuno."
1. Chapter one: Broken Promises

**A/N: **Thank you JuniperScaymoore for being my beta reader!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis. Never did, and never will.**

**Dual Disclaimer (By Beta): **SHE DOESN'T OWN PRINCE OF TENNIS (AKA PoT). _I_ don't own anything-PoT (NOT POT) or this story. I just polished it :)

* * *

**Chapter one: **Broken Promises

Sakuno sat down and closed her eyes. The sun was shining down on her, and she felt content. This was her favorite spot. She had discovered it purely by accident. Five months ago, her grandmother, Sumire Ryuzaki, had died of a heart attack. Sakuno was shocked, but even more than that, she felt lonely. Her parents had both divorced, and remarried, and now they barely talked to her. It was as if she wasn't born at all. Due to her busy parents, Sakuno had always felt that her grandmother was her only family member, and the only person whom she could confide to. Now, that person was gone, and she would never come back. Sakuno would be alone again. She couldn't bare the pain of her grandmother's death, and so she ran away from the funeral. It didn't matter where she was going. As long as it wasn't _there_. She ran and ran, and even when she tripped, she just continued running after picking herself up. When she couldn't run anymore, she sat down and looked around her. Because of its peaceful silence, and it's detachment with the city, she had loved this place.

It was a cliff. If you looked down, you could see the waves splashing against the rocks. Of course, you could hear it too. The splashing of the waves made a perfect harmony with the chirping of the birds, creating the sound of nature. Behind Sakuno was a small forest, if you could call it that. There were just a lot of trees clumped together, but it was this little "forest" that was rumored to be cursed. They said that if you walked through the forest with your boyfriend, or husband, you would break up or divorce within two months. Maybe it was true, but to Sakuno, it had no meaning. It wasn't like she had a lover anyway.

She leaned on a tree trunk and tried to sleep, and suddenly the pictures of the day before her grandmother died flashed before her eyes.

**-FLASHBACK-**

_They were looking at some sakura trees, and taking pictures, when her grandmother suddenly said something that made her remember something she had forgotten._

_"Sakuno. You should move on. Dwelling on the past won't help you with your future. You've grown into a beautiful woman, and you've gained more confidence over these years as I watch over you. Every day, you're continuing to change. Comparing you right now to your past self, it seems like I don't know you anymore. You've grown. You've matured. Love isn't always painful. Sometimes love is a good thing. Remember this. You are made from the love between your mother and father. This is what my own parents told me when I was younger."_

_"Obaa-san..." Sakuno sighed. "You say the love between my mother and father? Have you forgotten? They are divorced. It's true that they may have loved each other once upon a time, but now..." Sakuno took a deep breath, and was about to continue when her grandmother spoke again._

"_It may be true that they are divorced, but it doesn't change the face that they loved each other before."_

_"Yes Obaa-san. Before. I too, have been in love… _before_."_

_"Sakuno."_

_"Sorry. I have to go. It's almost time for my meeting." Sakuno smiled forcefully, and walked away._

_"Sakuno. Don't be afraid to accept love. Just because it failed once, doesn't mean it'll happen again...!" Her grandmother had shouted after her. She paused, then continued to walk away, not knowing that this would be the last conversation ever between them._

**-FLASHBACK END-**

"_Obaa-san_…"

Sakuno sighed. She didn't want to accept the love between couples, but she would accept the love between family and friends. She knew it wasn't what her grandmother had meant, but after all these years, she was still afraid of the feeling of attachment and pain. Her fear only grew as she watched many of her friends cry to her, saying that their boyfriends had cheated on them, or that they had an argument, or that they broke up because he just wasn't _interested_ anymore. There were many examples, but she didn't want to think about them. It was… well… depressing. And Sakuno disliked depressing things.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

Sakuno opened her eyes. Recognizing the noise as her cell phone, she looked around for her bag. She took her cell phone out, and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"Sakuno. This is Tomoka. Where are you?"

"Oh. I'm... You know. Around."

"That place? It gives me the creeps. It's so silent there. Anyways, come to the company right now please. There are a few roles for you to choose from. Even though none of them are huge, gigantic roles, they still give you a chance to explore your acting skills, and I think that is the most important thing. Remember, you have to be here in thirty minutes, okay? AAAND the President, Hiroki Yashiro, wants to talk to you about something. He's so mysterious! I wonder how he's like when he's with his girlfriend. Will he treat her like a princess? Or will he treat her like garbage? Ahh, I wonder how he's like in be-"

"It must've slipped my mind." Sakuno interrupted. "I'll be there soon."

She looked around, and decided that she would definitely miss this place when she had to move to another country three months later.

"Sakuno! Are you listening to me?"

"_Hai_."

"Ryuzaki Sakuno. If you're not here in fifteen minutes, I swear! I'll tell everyone that you used to date Echizen Ryoma! I'm not joking!"

By this time, Sakuno was stretching, and about to grab her bag when she froze as she heard her friend say his name. _Him_. The only person whom she fell in love with. The only person who she allowed to open her heart to. As well as the only person who can trample all over her heart and act as if nothing happened. She dropped her phone, only to pick it up seconds later.

"_Ne_ Tomoka…" She said cautiously. "Since you're shouting at me over the phone, I'm sure no one would be able to hear you?"

"Of course! I'm in the washroom. There's no one but me here, all alon-"

Sakuno sighed in relief, and picked up bag. Wondering why her manageress had stopped talking all of a sudden, she was about to ask when Tomoka shouted.

"SHIT, DOUBLE SHIT, AND TRIPLE SHIT."

Sakuno frowned. She had a feeling that something bad was going to happen.

"Sakuno. You see... There _was_ someone in the washroom after all. Ah… hehe."

"Osakada."

"_Gomen_, _gomen_!" The manageress pleaded. She knew that when she was referred to by her last name, it means there's going to be trouble.

"Don't you remember your promise?"

"Of course I did! I promised you that I will not tell anyone this until you were ready to tell everybody." Tomoka recited.

"And did I tell you that I was ready to tell the world that I used to date… _him_?" Sakuno was about to continue talking when she realized that she was steadily raising her voice. She quickly looked around, and after making sure no one was around, she quietly continued in order to ensure no one will overhear her. "You _promised_."

"Sakuno, I'm really sorry! I'll make sure that this girl here does not _ever _mention your name in her life. I'll quit being a manageress if you want me to. I'll give you all my salary for this month, even though you won't really need it. I promise you that I will try to never _ever_ say your name and his name in the same sentence, together in my life! I'll fall on my knees and beg you if you wish. I'll... I'll become your human shield if you ever needed it, or when there are guns around! I'll be-"

Sakuno unconsciously relaxed. She knew that Tomoka wasn't all talk and no action. Whenever Tomoka said something, Sakuno knew that she meant it. She amusedly noticed that Tomoka had said it all in one breath, and decided to interrupt her friend before she died due to the lack of oxygen.

"Look Tomo-chan. I'll hurry and meet you at AL&T (the company) in about twenty minutes okay? I'll still have ten minutes to spare. And please, don't do anything like that. Become my human shield? Just be careful with my name and his in the future."

She could hear Tomoka threatening the woman who overheard their conversation, and when the threatening didn't work, Tomoka had very loudly blackmailed her. With what, Sakuno didn't know, and how she even _got_ something to blackmail that poor woman was even more of a mystery.

"Okay, sure. Sakuno, _gomen_! She promised she won't ever tell anyone though."

Sakuno could almost feel Tomoka's glare over the phone.

"Talk about this later. See you in twenty."

She picked up her forgotten bag, and walked back towards the noisy city. Looking over her shoulder one last time, she shook her head, and whispered softly to herself. "Another broken promise huh?"

**-FLASHBACK-**

_She was a third year at Seigaku. Surprisingly, Ryoma Echizen was in all of her classes this year. They had gotten close in their first year, but during their second year, they had drifted apart. When Sakuno entered her classroom, or tried to, she found that the whole doorway was blocked by girls. Squealing _loud_ girls. Crazy squealing making-her-ears-bleed loud girls. Sakuno had to wait until the sensei came to finally step inside her classroom. She was kind of surprised to actually see him there. She looked around and waited to see if Satsuki Nakuru would be in the same class as her. Five minutes later, Nakuru was nowhere in sight. She sighed. Naruku was probably not in the same class, or if she was, she was very, very late. When the sensei told them to sit, she chose to sit by the window at the back of the room. The desks were arranged into pairs, but she figured she would probably sit alone, or with a new classmate. She glanced at Ryoma. He was leaning against the back wall, looking extremely bored. Sakuno wasn't sure if she wanted to talk to him or not. It was true that she liked him, but perhaps she didn't like him as much as she thought. Sakuno blinked. For the first time, she noticed the many changes in Ryoma._

_Ryoma had gotten taller, a lot taller. If she was standing up, she had to tilt her head up to look at him. She wasn't short either. She was 5'5", towering over most girls in the class. Ryoma had also gotten more handsome, if that was possible. His fan girls were increasing at an alarming rate. This morning was an example of that. His fan girls ranged from tall to short, freshmen to seniors, fat to skinny, which practically meant everyone, that is, excluding Sakuno. She had stopped watching his games, but she always knew if he won or not. Every single girl would talk about it, and Sakuno would listen._

_Unwilling to be caught staring, she turned her head, and glanced out the window, wishing that lunch break would come already so she could find Naruku. Tomoka had moved away due to her father's job and her family decided that they would go together. They still phoned and sent letters sometimes. They would've e-mailed each other, but Tomoka didn't tell Sakuno her e-mail address, and Sakuno always forgot to ask. If Tomoka were here, she probably wouldn't have met Naruku either._

_Naruku was her best friend. She had gotten close to Sakuno and Tomoka in the middle of their second year. After Tomoka left, she and Naruku would do everything together. Naruku knew that she missed Tomoka, and did her best to cheer her up. When Sakuno was bullied, she would come and help her out. Naruku wasn't ugly. She was, in fact, very beautiful, so at first, Sakuno didn't trust her. She didn't understand why such a pretty girl would want to be friends with her, but after a while, she knew more about Naruku, and slowly began to trust her. Naruku's family consisted of her mother and her brother. Her father had died a long time ago, and her mother worked every day. At least, that's what Naruku told everybody. Sakuno saw Naruku's mom with a strange man. She had followed them to the restaurant. There wasn't any suspicious activity happening, so she went home. The next day, she saw Naruku's mom again. This time, she was with a different man. She went over to Naruku's house, and was about to tell her when she saw Naruku running out of her house, crying._

_Hiding behind a tree, she wondered what was going on. It wasn't until a week after that Naruku finally told Sakuno about her mother when Sakuno questioned her. Naruku had thought that if she told her, Sakuno might be disgusted by her family, and leave her. Sakuno promised that she would never leave her if Naruku told her the truth. Naruku nodded, and she hugged Sakuno tightly. That day, their friendship had deepened._

_"Class is starting."_

_Most people found a spot to sit, but majority of the girls were still standing. They all looked at Ryoma hopefully, and glared at each other. Some crouched down, as if preparing to sprint. Ryoma looked around, and started walking. Sakuno was still staring out the window, and was unaware of anything until a bunch of girls let out a sound of frustration. Sakuno heard the sound of the chair beside her scrapping the floor, and suddenly felt people glaring at her. She slowly turned to look around and tilted her head to look at the person sitting beside her. Sakuno could identify that it was a male, and he had dark green hair, but she couldn't see his face. He was sleeping on the desk, and his face was turned the other way. Sakuno glanced at the girls, and shuddered when she saw all of them glaring back at her. She awkwardly turned to look out the window again. The girls angrily took their seats. It wasn't until class was almost over that she finally saw his face. She stared at him, and he turned his head to stare back. Sakuno blinked a couple of times, and looked towards the board in silence._

_Now she knew why the girls were glaring and narrowing their eyes for. Echizen Ryoma was sitting beside her, and they didn't like it. She tried to focus, but a certain tennis prodigy beside her was making her uncomfortable. She was also tired, and she yawned a lot. Class dragged on, and the sensei continued talking in English. She wasn't paying attention anymore, and all she heard was "Blah, blah, blah..."_

_When the lunch bell rang, she rushed out of her classroom with a smile on her face, in search of her best friend. However, she couldn't find Naruku at all. She tried texting, but didn't get a reply. She finally phoned Naruku's home phone._

_"Hello?" Came a timid girl's voice._

_"Naruku? What are you doing at home? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"_

_"Sa-Sakuno? Sorry. I…"_

_A pause. Then some muffled sounds._

"_Sakuno? Sorry. I-I'm just feeling a bit… sick."_

_"__Daijoubu__?"_

_"Yes, but I have to go. Bye." And with that, the phone call had ended._

_Sakuno stared blankly at her phone for a few minutes. She had already finished her lunch, and since there wasn't anything to do, she wandered around the school. She finally went to the roof, in a desperate attempt to find peace and quiet. She looked around, and no one was here. Perfect. Smiling, she pushed the heavy door closed, and tied up her hair in a ponytail. She had always liked dancing. Free style, Ballet, Hip hop, Jazz. She had tried most of the dances, but her favorite was still free style. Dancing also took away her stress, but sometimes she just wanted to dance for no particular reason at all. Other times she danced to think better, like now. She stretched, and smiled. Maybe it would even take her sleepiness away! She danced around on the roof, and pretended that it was a stage. In the middle of her spinning, she heard someone clap. She turned around in shock. She prayed. 'Someone did NOT just saw me dance on the roof. Please tell me someone did NOT see me, and that I'm growing old and hallucinating!' However, when she turned around, she was disappointed to find that her prayers were not answered. Even worse was the person standing there._

_"Ryo-" Sakuno coughed. "Echizen-san. What are you doing here?"_

_"Sleeping."_

_"Then... Then when did you wake up?"_

_"When you came in."_

_"Then why didn't I see you?"_

_Ryoma shrugged and pointed to some crates behind him. Sakuno groaned. It seemed like she had used up all of the Prince's words for her today. Then she glared._

_"Don't tell anyone." She narrowed her eyes, then thought better of it, and added, "Onegai, Echizen-san."_

_"Ne."_

_Sakuno glanced at Ryoma. "Nani?"_

"_What happened to 'Ryoma-kun'?"_

_Purposely ignoring it, and slightly surprised that he even remembered her, she continued pleading. "Just don't tell anyone okay? Promise Echizen-san?"_

_After a heavy silence, Ryoma opened his mouth. "If you stop calling me that."_

_Sakuno mentally groaned. 'Let see... My choices are, let the school know that I dance, and let my parent's eventually hear and punish me for doing such an 'useless activity', or call someone by their first name. Well, that wasn't so hard.'_

_She sighed in defeat._

_**Two weeks later…**_

_"What do you mean they moved?"_

_Sakuno was at Naruku's house and the landlady told her that they moved out a week ago._

_"Why did they leave?"_

_"Oh. I think it was because her father had wanted Naruku to live with him. Her mother, well actually, I just recently learned that it was her aunt, had moved in with a man. The brother is going to live with their father too. That's what I heard."_

_"Oh. Th-thank you." Sakuno whispered._

_Naruku lied. She said that she was sick, and that's why she wasn't coming to class. She said that her father died a long time ago. She said that was her mother. She said that she would never lie. She promised. And now, she had broken her promise._

_In the end, Sakuno didn't leave Naruku. Naruku left her. The promise Sakuno made to Naruku meant nothing anymore. Sakuno had tasted her first betrayal. The next few days, she was in a daze._

_**Four days later…**_

_Sakuno's class was having a play for English class. The main characters were of course, the prince and the princess. The whole class had chosen Ryoma as the leading role. It didn't matter whether he liked it or not. Majority ruled, and with that many fan girls cluttering up the class, it was obvious who the prince would be._

_"Now, who will be the princess? Raise your hands and stand up please."_

_Every girl raised her hand (except Sakuno), and stood up. The teacher looked around the classroom._

_"Well. Let me just tell you what the princess is expected to do. First of all, she must have long hair, because there is a part in the play where the prince kisses the princess's hair."_

_The girls with short hair groaned, "How about a wig though?"_

_"Well. A wig would work, but I really want this play to work out, and even if there's a 0.000001 percent chance of the wig falling off…" The teacher's glasses glinted._

_They groaned again, but they sat down._

_The teacher continued, "Next, this girl cannot wear glasses. Part six of the play requires the princess to wear a mask, and the mask is very tight, so glasses would not work."_

_A third of them winced. Some tried to take off their glasses and try out for the princess, but they walked around and tripped._

_"Contacts?" Someone asked hopefully._

_However, the teacher chose to ignore her. The girls sat down, obviously disappointed._

_"Lastly, this girl must know how to dance, because for this part here," He pointed to a page, "It states that the princess will have to dance with the prince, and we do not have enough time for you to learn how to dance."_

_The remaining girls stared at each other, looking around._

_"Sensei." A deep male voice._

_"Yes Echizen?"_

_"I know someone who has long hair, doesn't wear glasses, and can dance... pretty well."_

_"Really? Then you will choose the princess. After all, you are the prince."_

_"Ryuzaki."_

_The whole class turned to look at Sakuno, who was busy thinking about Naruku, and turned back to Ryoma. Sakuno wasn't paying any attention to the teacher. She figured she would probably get the role of a servant or something._

_"Then it's decided." Sakuno finally looked up, and listened to what the teacher was saying._

_"The princess will be Ryuzaki."_

_Sakuno yawned, and in the middle of her yawn, she froze._

_"Huh? Me? Sensei, did you make a mistake?"_

_Sakuno reached out to take her water bottle, and took a sip._

_"No. You fit the requirements of the princess."_

_Sakuno immediately choked on the water she was drinking. "What requirements?"_

_"Long hair, no glasses or contacts, and can also dance. I'm sure you can't deny the fact that you are suitable."_

_"I… I wear contacts…!"_

_"You're wearing contacts?" She looked at the teacher as his head dropped in disappointment._

_"I am… not." She confessed._

_"Then be our princess!"_

_"But I... who said I could dance? I can't dance..."_

"_You can't? But Echizen…"_

_"What...?"_

_She glared at Ryoma. He looked at her apologetically, and shrugged. She growled mentally._

_It was decided. Ryoma was the prince and she was the princess. The stupid damsel-in-distress. The stupid girl that was so much like her weak self. The stupid princess that was spoiled rotten. She stormed out of the classroom after saying that she felt sick, feeling slightly bitter._

_Another promise, broken again._

**-FLASHBACK END-**

"Why can't people just make promises that they can actually keep?" Sakuno mumbled. Although she had every right to be angry at Naruku, she did not hear both sides of the story. It wasn't until later did she realize how unfortunate her friend really was.

Back at the cliff, a certain dark-green haired person with golden-brown feline eyes heard everything, and saw everything. The beautiful eyes widened, and the only sound that could be heard was this boys' breathing.

His mouth opened, and five words came out of his mouth. "_Why aren't you smiling Sakuno?_"

**.TBC.**

* * *

Dictionary:

_Obaa-san_ – Grandmother.

_Hai_ – Something along the lines of _I am paying attention, and I understand what you are saying_, or used as _yes_.

_Ne_ – Translates roughly to _hey_ (In some other cases, translates to _right/isn't it?_).

_Gomen_ – Informal way of saying _sorry_.

_Sensei_ – Teacher.

_Daijoubu – Are you all right?_

_Onegai_ – Please.

_Nani_ – What?


	2. Chapter two: A Wish Come True

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything except the plot.

_Thank you _JuniperScaymoore_ for being the beta reader. (:_

**Chapter two: **A Wish Come True

_Back at the cliff, a certain dark-green haired person with golden-brown feline eyes heard everything, and saw everything. The beautiful eyes widened, and the only sound that was heard, was this boys' breathing._

_His mouth opened, and five words came out of his mouth. "Why aren't you smiling Sakuno?"_

* * *

Ryoma laid there on the bed, glaring at the sunlight that invaded his dark room. He blinked a few times, and rubbed his eyes. He didn't get to sleep much for the past two nights. He was too busy thinking about a certain girl and by the time he fell asleep, it was already almost morning. Ryoma sighed. He slowly sat up and got out of bed.

He wasn't living with his parents anymore. Ryoma still found his dad extremely annoying, and moved out as soon as he could. Now, instead of the temple, he lived in a penthouse. He had offered to buy his parents a new home, but they refused, saying that the house had a lot of precious memories, and they didn't feel like moving. Ryoma just shrugged, and didn't bother asking twice.

While he was walking towards his washroom, he noticed that his computer was still on. The light was blinking at him, and he walked over to shut the computer down. He started walking towards the washroom again, to brush his teeth and change into a pair of faded black jeans, and a T-shirt. As he stepped out of the door, he felt a little cold, so he took a green Adidas jacket that was lying on the sofa and put it on. He got his white Fila cap, and was about to leave when he heard his cell phone ring.

Groaning he searched for his phone, throwing things all over the room. Finally he found it, and he pressed talk.

"Who is it?" He growled. _Whoever it is, it better be damn important. _As he looked over his room, he frowned. _I had to add even more mess to this messy room to find this stupid phone._ He waited for whoever that was on the other line to talk. When he heard nothing, his frown deepened.

"Hello?" He said impatiently.

No one answered. He almost threw the phone across the room.

He muttered something under his breath and walked out the door after making sure it was locked properly. With his keys in hand, he pressed the elevator button and waited. He momentarily thought back to yesterday's phone call conversation with his senpai.

-x-

_His cell phone rang, and he suppressed his yawn to answer it._

_"…"_

_"Hello? Echizen? Are you there?" A male voice was heard from the other end._

_"Hn."_

_"Echizen! You'll never believe this!"_

_"Who is this?" Was his blunt reply._

_"This is Momoshiro. How could you forget my voice, how could you? But have you heard of the party that starts at five today?"_

_"Yes." It was obvious by Ryoma's tone that he didn't care much about it._

_"Well, Atobe invited all the old Seigaku members, along with famous people! Just imagine, I'll be meeting with celebrities!"_

_"Hn. I don't want to spend a whole night staring at his face with the mole. I have better things to do."_

_"Tezuka-buchou would be there too. I could always ask Inui-senpai to give you his newest drink, or Fuji-senpai to blackmail you with hi-"_

_"Are you threatening me?"_

_Sheepish laughter entered Ryoma's ears._

_"Hn. Remind me why I gave you my number in the first place?"_

_"Because we're the best of the best of friends. Echizen? How come you're not replying? You're there right? You're coming right? Echizen! Echizen? Echi-"_

-x-

He glanced at his watch as he stepped out into the sunlight. It was almost time for the tennis match. He looked around, and cringed at the squealing girls that seemed to follow him everywhere. _Where is that guy? Didn't he say that he would come drive me? _A minute passed, then five. Ryoma couldn't stand the girls anymore. _I swear. I'm going to go deaf very, very soon._

"Echizen-san. I'm very sorry to make you wait so long."

Ryoma glared at him.

He didn't receive any answer, but he didn't expect the famous tennis prodigy in front of him to answer. His glare had signaled the end of their conversation, and that was that. Ryoma didn't plan on talking with this familiar stranger. Even though this guy was always driving Ryoma to his matches, and telling him his schedule, Ryoma never bothered to remember his name. Ryoma had seen him a bunch of times, and Ryoma was sure that he introduced himself to him every time he met him, but his name wasn't important, so he didn't even attempt to remember it. He would forget the name as soon as he said it, and so this person was nicknamed 'Twig', since he was ever so skinny and his hair was dark brown.

Twig apologized for a full minute before he finally said, "The car is over there. Let's go to your tennis match now."

Ryoma nodded. Before he knew it, he dozed off in the car.

* * *

"Echizen-san,"

Ryoma's eyes slowly opened.

"We're here. Your match is on the West D court today. I have a map here if you need it."

Ryoma didn't bother listening after he knew which court he was in. Nodding his thanks, he got out of the car, took the map from him, and walked away without looking back.

"Good luck Echizen-san!"

Ryoma raised his right hand and waved to signal that he heard. After a few minutes, he arrived at the tennis court. There weren't much people around. It didn't bother him; instead, it made him feel energized. Lots of people meant lots of yelling, and lots of yelling meant him _sometimes_ losing his concentration. He almost lost once because of those stupid girl's squealing. Looking at his watch, he noticed that there were still twenty minutes before the match officially starts. He went to look for a wall to warm up. He finally found one not far from where he is, and after putting down his bag on a bench, he took out his racquet and tennis ball, and started hitting it against the wall. His mind started wandering, and when he saw a brunette walk by, he started to think about Sakuno, who he saw for the first time in three years. He angrily shook his head, forcing his thoughts to the back of his brain, and started to concentrate on warming up.

He checked his watch again. It was time. After one final hit, he caught the ball, and after retrieving his bag, Ryoma walked to the court where he would play momentarily. He looked inside the court, and smirked. _It looks like my opponent is here already._

He entered the court, and a tall blonde man looked up. Ryoma had to tilt his head slightly to look at him, and the man laughed quietly, mumbling to himself. Ryoma sighed in frustration. Drinking milk all the time didn't really help him much. Hopefully, at the age of eighteen, he would still be growing.

He put his bag down, and stared at the man not far from where he is. He stared back at Ryoma. Then he suddenly narrowed his eyes at Ryoma, and Ryoma started to feel uncomfortable. Of course he won't admit it, but it bothered him nonetheless.

The gates creaked open, and both of them stared at a stranger with a bright blue t-shirt and an un-matching neon green shorts coming in. He looked around, and gasped. "Sorry. Did I come into the wrong court?"

The umpire nodded, and the flushing man left.

Ryoma and the man both walked towards the net.

"Smooth or rough." It wasn't even a question anymore. It was a statement.

"Smooth." Ryoma replied.

It landed on Smooth. "Echizen Ryoma to serve."

Ryoma smirked. He switched the racquet to his right hand, and started to serve.

"Love-15." Everyone gasped at his serve. Some started to whisper among themselves.

"Love-30."

"Love-40." A bunch of girls walked by, and started to watch the game.

"Game, Echizen."

"_Sugoi_! That Warren Takuto guy didn't even score a point! He won only using his serves!"

A bunch of whisperings found its way to Ryoma's ear. He smirked. Raising his racquet so that it pointed towards the man's face, his catchphrase came.

"_Mada mada dane_."

* * *

"Game, set, match Echizen."

By now, they had attracted a lot of attention, and a bunch of girls squealed. He groaned inwardly. Walking up to the net, he shook hands with Takuto.

"How could a short kid like him beat me? I didn't even win a single game. The best I did was winning three points. How did he get so fast anyway? Plus, he isn't even sweating that hard. I must improve my stamina next time. I should…"

Ryoma raised his eyebrow. _Another Shinji has appeared._ He walked away without saying anything else. The part at the gate was the most difficult part. With all those fan girls crowding everywhere, he found it very hard to get through. Somehow he managed, and he ran as soon as he's free. Ryoma took out his cell phone to check the time. It was five twenty. Even though he's late, he _did_ somehow agree to go to that party. He sighed. Usually, he would go straight away without a care in the world, but because it was a formal party, he had to dress up. Something he hadn't done in a long, long time. Heck, he didn't even remember the last time he dressed up for something. _Well maybe that time with Saku…_ _No. Stop._ He shook his head again to clear his thoughts.

Pressing a button, he realized that someone had texted him. It came from the Twig. He informed Ryoma of a change of his schedule. Ryoma was to go to a modeling agency in an hour. He replied back with a clear _'Not interested'._

Another beep, which signaled another text. Ryoma chose to ignore it, but less than five minutes later, it beeped again. Ryoma glared at his cell phone. The bad part was that he couldn't even turn it off, because if something important comes up with tennis, they contact him by his phone. And his mother had forbidden him to ever turn it on silent, because when she tried to contact Ryoma, she ended up calling thirty times before he finally picked up his phone. The phone continued beeping until Ryoma groaned in defeat.

In the middle of the busy street, he managed to get into a taxi, and it drove him back home.

* * *

_**Approximately one hour and forty something minutes later…**_

"No! No! Don't just stand there! Pose!"

Ryoma stared back at the camera. He had no idea how he got into this mess. He had agreed to come, but not actually model the minute he stepped into the room. Modeling and Ryoma do _not _mix together. It's like oil and water. No matter how hard you stir, they won't blend. He only came because of the annoying text messages. Another reason was because it was his mothers dream for him to be a singer and apparently this is the first step to that. It wasn't like he was interested in this at all, but sometimes he did try to make his mother happy.

A man wearing sunglasses shouted at him some more. Finally getting the hint that Ryoma can't make up a pose himself, the man directed him.

"Raise your hand like this. Turn your face slightly to the right. Don't look at the camera. Look at that pink painting over there, and STAND STILL. Yes. That's it. I SAID DON'T MOVE."

Ryoma frowned. Today has got to be the worst day of his life. His poor ears were starting to hurt from all the yelling. Not to mention the fact that he was just _dying _to scratch his arm.

"No. Don't FROWN!"

Ryoma's face resumed the emotionless mask as he clenched his teeth. _Endure Ryoma, endure._

-x-_  
_

"Good job. If you like, we can do this again some other time."

"Hn." _As if I will do this again. This is absolute torture._

"Well do you have any questions?"

"Yes."

"What is it Echizen-kun?"

"Why do you wear sunglasses in this dark room?"

The man with sunglasses pretended not to hear him. "Well if there are no questions, you may go."

* * *

_**Location: Atobe's party**_

He slipped in, hoping that no one would notice him. It seemed like the party was packed with girls. Almost over half of them were crowding something. He pitied the person, or persons in the middle of the mob. He shuddered slightly, and went to look for some drinks. As he was walking, Atobe Keigo spotted him. He walked closer and closer, but Ryoma didn't feel like talking to him at the moment. He was craving for some Ponta.

"Did you like this party hm?"

"Happy birthday Monkey king. _Ja_." Then Ryoma ran off.

He found some juice, but there wasn't any Ponta in sight. The huge grandfather clock informed him that it was almost nine. He was not pleased. He just wasted approximately two and a half hours modeling and another hour walking around in this stupid party. He spotted a door, and he opened it. Closing the door behind him, he discovered a spacious hallway. He wandered around, and found a what seemed to be a garden. He started to walk towards it when he bumped into something. He raised his hand to see what he bumped into. His hands touched the smooth, cold glass.

"Stupid glass." He muttered as he wondered how his eyes missed it. He leaned against the glass, and was about to take his cell phone out when he felt himself fall back. Before he had a chance to regain his balance, he fell.

"_Itai_…"

After a few minutes of lying on the floor, he got up and rubbed his head. Apparently he leaned against a door. As Ryoma looked around him, he found that it was mostly rose bushes, but there was a big tree in the center of it all. He walked closer, and it was surprisingly a maple tree. The sweet aroma of the roses was starting to overwhelm him, but he stayed and sat down anyway. Looking up, he saw the perfectly round moon. Resting his eyes for the first time today, he finally relaxed.

He thought back to a few weeks ago when he accidentally eavesdropped on a conversation that he didn't think he should be listening to. According to that conversation, Ryuzaki Sakuno was talking about dating someone, and she is now working at some company.

Taking out his cell phone, he searched the internet on 'Ryuzaki Sakuno'. There were a bunch of articles about her. Most of them were talking about a band that somehow keeps appearing on the top ten lists, and what a great actor she was. Some others were sites that contained information about her personal life, and as Ryoma read through it, he didn't know if he should be happy that none of the reporters dug up their past, or sad to know that no one knew she belonged to him before. Ryoma searched some more, and was surprised at the fact that she had won some awards in acting. _Sakuno didn't like to act when she was in school. I remembered that she liked to dance. _And so, he searched harder, and found that Sakuno had been in a car accident, and because of that accident, she had suffered some injuries which caused her to stop dancing. Ryoma closed the window and sighed at his stupid curiosity which lead him to waste more than an hour of his time.

"I hope I can see you again, Sakuno." He whispered.

_Crunch. Crunch._

Instantly alert, he glanced around. A girl came into view.

"Uuwahh. What a beautiful moon."

Ryoma, half-hidden by the shadows, continued to observe. The moonlight shone on her like a spotlight. She was facing the other way, so Ryoma couldn't see her face, but he did see the long auburn hair that almost reached the small of her back. The girl continued to walk backwards towards the tree, the same one which he was leaning on. Ryoma turned his gaze back to the moon, praying that she wasn't the type who will suddenly yell in his ear. Suddenly, the girl gasped, and the sound of footsteps ceased. He turned his head lazily to her.

"R-Ryoma…"

He blinked. Recognition flickered in his eyes, and the phrase _"be careful what you wish for"_ flowed through his mind. A simple word confirmed both his and her identity.

"Sakuno."

He stiffened slightly as memories of their past came rushing back.

**.TBC.**

* * *

Dictionary:

_Mada mada dane_ – Translates roughly to _you still have lots more to work on_, or _not good enough/still no good_.

_Sugoi_ – Japanese slang, meaning favorably impressed (ex. cool, awesome, etc).

_Ja_ – Bye.

_Itai _– Ouch.

**A/N:** I will assume that people know the honorifics, and those will not be included in the dictionary section.

And also, Happy new year!


End file.
